Philadelphia Jewish Film and Media Festival: Shorts for Children

East Coast Premiere
THE WELL IN THE WOODS

Directed by Ilan Schraer & Ijah Valenzuela
Stop-motion Animation | USA | NR | 2026 | 3 min

In this stop motion film, a young girl stumbles upon an abandoned well and finds something mysterious within.

Northeast US Premiere
GOLEM

Directed by Baruch Kapustin and Karina Shaposhnikova
Papercraft Sop-motion Animation | Slovakia | 2025 | 7 min | Russian with English Subtitles

The rabbi creates the Golem — a giant made of clay, brought to life through ancient magic. The Golem becomes a helper, but it cannot stop on its own until it is told, “Golem, enough!”

US Premiere
FIVE LITTLE GEFILTES

Directed by Helene Berg & Isabella A Johanson
Animated Short | Sweden | 2026 | 6 min | Yiddish with English Subtitles

You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll plotz! Dos Nisele presents Gefiltlekh finf—a vibrant, Yiddish-language animation of Dave Horowitz’s beloved book Five Little Gefiltes/Fem små gefiltes. When five curious gefiltes have the chutzpah to leave their jar to explore NYC, they are followed by a loud OY VEY! Mama Gefilte isn’t happy, but through their adventures, each sibling proves to be a true mentsh.

This event is presented by Philadelphia Jewish Film and Media: A Program of The Weitzman. Please contact [email protected] with any questions.